As Drew says, what the Republicans pulled off a few weeks ago wasn’t really a coup. They took control of the chamber with the approval of the majority of its members. Those members may have included pissed off Democrats, but it was still done with the consent of the majority.

This, on the other hand, is very much a coup. Democrats have apparently decided to take back control of the chamber without the support of the majority, just doing whatever the heck they want in order to gain back their power — legal or otherwise.

In a surprise move, Democrats filed into the Senate chamber this afternoon and took control of the rostrum for the first time since June 8, when a historic Republican-backed coup seemingly broke their majority.

The 31 senators took their seats and put Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Yonkers) on the podium. The press was blocked from entering and watched events unfold through windows.

How can they take back control of the chamber? They really can’t. It’s currently deadlocked at 31 a piece, but the last vote on the majority had 32 members — a majority — voting for Republican leadership. Democrats have apparently decided to ignore the will of the majority and do whatever they want anyway.

And they know that they’re simply taking it back by force, too:

Democrats entered the chamber through the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, which is connected to their conference room through a series of back doors. Smith spokesman Austin Shafran said Democrats would not let Republicans into the chamber until the special session, preventing them from attending a 2 p.m. Republicans called as a way to preemptively occupy the gilded meeting hall. Sergeants-at-arms, which are still controlled by Smith, were posed at the chamber gates.

“Isn’t that interesting?” Turncoat Democrat Sen. Espada Jr. said when informed of the Democratic lock down. “What reform that is. We are going to get out of session at two o’clock.”

So the way to win back control is to force the majority out, place guards at the doors, and ignore the will of the majority? No wonder Democrats became tired of the antics of their own side.